TWO decades ago, at the north-eastern tip of Tasmania, a single cell near the whiskers of a Tasmanian devil mutated and turned cancerous. That animal was bitten in the face by another devil, which was then bitten by another, and the cancer has been spreading ever since. It has taken a once-common species to the brink of extinction.

To date, the contagious cancer known as devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) has annihilated 85 per cent of the population. There may be fewer than 20,000 Tasmanian devils left in the wild. Worse still, the species has been hit by another deadly disease. Yet these animals are living up to their feisty reputation. With a combination of remarkably rapid evolution and some groundbreaking work by conservationists, they seem determined to survive.

Tasmanian devils once roamed widely across Australia. But when dingoes were introduced to the mainland at least 4000 years ago, those living there were probably hunted to oblivion, along with their relatives, Tasmanian tigers. Consequently, Tasmania is now the sole residence of the world’s largest living meat-eating marsupial. The devils have attained a sort of celebrity status there, with their likeness gracing coins, sports jerseys and even beer labels.

Advertisement

An adult devil is about the size of an obese domestic cat, but like other marsupials, they are tiny at birth – about the size of a grain of rice. As they grow, so do their appetites. A full-sized devil can consume 15 per cent of its body weight in a single day. Luckily, they are unfussy eaters. They scavenge …